Ealing's Operation Linchpin took 18.5 tonnes of illegal goods from the Charles House estate on 3 September, and 13,500 fake toys a fortnight before.
Ealing Council has set up a standing taskforce to deal with counterfeit trading at the Charles House industrial estate in Southall, and says the site is one of the country’s biggest centres for importing and distributing fake goods.
The taskforce is called Operation Linchpin. It is run by the council’s own trading standards team and paid for by National Trading Standards.
It has opened with two raids in three weeks.
What was taken, and when
On Thursday 3 September, trading standards officers inspected businesses at Grand Union Enterprise Park, off Grand Union Way. They took 18.5 tonnes of illicit, unsafe and non-compliant goods, which the council says was enough to fill a large lorry. The haul included vapes, toys and cosmetics.
They did not go alone. The council says the inspection was supported by:
- more than 20 Metropolitan Police officers
- the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Group
- HM Revenue and Customs
- Border Force
- trading standards teams from eight other councils
HMRC officers seized a significant quantity of non-duty paid shisha tobacco on the same day.
One detail in the council’s account explains why the operation was that size. On previous visits, traders pulled down their shutters as officers arrived and the inspections stopped there. This time officers brought mechanical equipment and forced entry.
On Tuesday 18 August, an unannounced inspection took more than 13,500 counterfeit toys from a wholesaler at Charles House. The council says they carried no CE or UKCA safety markings, no manufacturer or importer details and no safety warnings. Many carried Avengers, Hello Kitty and Lilo and Stitch branding used without the trademark owner’s permission.
In February the council seized around 15,000 poor quality Labubu dolls at the same site, alongside other items.
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, the council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “Charles House has been a major part of the counterfeit goods industry across the country for many years, and several other forms of criminality have also been linked to the site.”
Councillor Nagpal also said: “Anyone involved in selling counterfeit or dangerous products at Charles House should be under no illusion. This is not a one-off operation.”
No one has been named or charged. The council says investigations are continuing. Selling unsafe and counterfeit goods can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and an unlimited fine.
The estate itself is part of the problem
“Charles House” is what people in Southall call the whole block, not one building. The council’s release covers the Charles House estate and the surrounding area on Bridge Road, and the September raid was at Grand Union Enterprise Park, which is a separate address on Grand Union Way.
The borough’s own planning register shows how that block came to be shaped the way it is. Over the past decade the council has granted a run of applications to cut large warehouses into many small lettable units:
- PP/2014/0228: one industrial unit at Grand Union Enterprise Park converted into six separate B2 units
- PP/2015/2977: a single warehouse converted into two
- PP/2015/2982: another single warehouse converted into three
- PP/2015/6455: units 4 and 5 subdivided into 14 individual B8 storage units
- 183623FUL: a three storey side extension in 2018 providing six more units of office space
The Charles House side of the block carries unit numbers like A1, A7A and B2 on its own applications, which is the same pattern. A site made of dozens of small, separately let, shuttered units is a hard thing to inspect, and the council’s description of traders pulling shutters down is what that looks like in practice.
One other entry on the register is worth noting. In July 2023 someone applied to build two extra storeys on top of Charles House to hold 20 flats, under permitted development rules. The council refused it on 29 August 2023, recording the decision as “prior approval unlawful and refused”. In March 2026 it granted permission to raise the roof of Unit A7A for continued industrial use.
This is not new, and the last big one produced no arrests
Ealing’s trading standards team has been raiding Southall industrial units for years.
In April 2021 the council, the Metropolitan Police and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group opened 22 shipping containers on Enterprise Way in Southall with angle grinders and seized an estimated £2.5 million of counterfeit goods. That haul included imitation designer accessories, fake electronics, illegal tobacco and around 15,000 unlicensed erectile dysfunction tablets.
The council’s own statement at the time said arrests had “yet to be made” and the investigation was continuing. It did not publish an outcome afterwards.
That is the test Operation Linchpin has set itself. The council is no longer describing these as one-off raids but as a funded, standing operation combining inspections, enforcement and education. The measure of it will be what follows the seizures, not the tonnage.
What it means for you
If you buy cheap toys, vapes or cosmetics from a market stall, a pop-up shop or an online seller, the three markers trading standards used at Charles House are the ones to check yourself. A legal toy sold in the UK carries a CE or UKCA mark, names a manufacturer or importer you can trace, and comes with safety warnings and an age grading. If all three are missing, the product has not been through the checks that stop it catching fire, shedding small parts or containing banned chemicals.
If you sell goods in the borough, the council has said plainly that it will keep coming back, and that it can now force entry when shutters come down.
To report something, the council points to two routes. Suspected trading standards breaches go to the Citizens Advice consumer service. The illegal sale of vapes and tobacco products can be reported anonymously on the council’s own website.
Our Ealing planning page follows applications like the Charles House ones as they are decided.
Frequently asked questions
What is Operation Linchpin?
It is a taskforce set up by Ealing Council to tackle counterfeit trading at the Charles House estate in Southall. It is led by the council’s trading standards team, funded by National Trading Standards, and combines inspections, enforcement action and education rather than one-off raids.
Where is Charles House in Southall?
Charles House is on Bridge Road, Southall, UB2 4BD. The name is used locally for the whole block, which also takes in Grand Union Enterprise Park on Grand Union Way, UB2 4EX, where the 3 September raid took place.
What was seized in the September 2026 raid?
Officers took 18.5 tonnes of illicit, unsafe and non-compliant goods, which the council says was enough to fill a large lorry. It included vapes, toys and cosmetics. HMRC separately seized a significant quantity of non-duty paid shisha tobacco.
Has anyone been arrested or charged?
The council has not named anyone and has not announced any charges. Its statement says investigations are continuing.
How can I tell if a toy is unsafe or counterfeit?
The council says the toys it seized had no CE or UKCA safety marking, no manufacturer or importer details and no safety warnings. A legal toy sold in the UK carries all three. If any are missing, the product has not been through the required safety checks.
How do I report counterfeit or illegal goods in Ealing?
Suspected trading standards breaches go to the Citizens Advice consumer service. The illegal sale of vapes and tobacco products can be reported anonymously on Ealing Council’s website.
Sources
- Around Ealing (Ealing Council), “Big crackdown targets counterfeit traders”, published 11 September 2026, for Operation Linchpin, its funding by National Trading Standards, the 3 September raid and the 18.5 tonne figure, the agencies present, the shisha tobacco seizure, the forced entry, the 18 August seizure of more than 13,500 counterfeit toys, the February Labubu seizure, the maximum sentence and the quotes from Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal.
- Around Ealing (Ealing Council), “Counterfeit goods seized in Southall worth over £2.5 million”, 21 April 2021, for the Enterprise Way container operation, the £2.5 million estimate, the unlicensed tablets and the statement that arrests had yet to be made.
- Ealing Council’s planning register at pam.ealing.gov.uk, searched 14 September 2026, for applications 232780PANDCM (20 flats, prior approval unlawful and refused, 29 August 2023), 253543FUL (Unit A7A roof, granted with conditions 13 March 2026), PP/2014/0228, PP/2015/2977, PP/2015/2982, PP/2015/6455 and 183623FUL at Grand Union Enterprise Park, Grand Union Way, Southall UB2 4EX, and for the Charles House address of record, Bridge Road, Southall UB2 4BD.
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